Trump like an elephant in a china shop: Letters, Oct. 27

Trump like an elephant in a china shop

The expression “like a bull in a china shop” is used to describe “uncontrolled or uncaring actions that cause disastrous results.” This phrase describes the situation that exists in the White House. President Donald Trump, driven by a single motive, is mindlessly destroying things of great value. All he needs to know about something before using every resource at his disposal to destroy it is that it is part of President Barack Obama’s legacy.

There were many excellent and valuable policies, programs and international agreements in place when Trump became president, but he has never shown any interest in evaluating them on their merit. Apparently his attention span is so brief that he is not able to learn the important details that he needs to know to make an informed decision.

Like the bull in this expression, Trump seems incapable of grasping the value of what he is breaking and does not replace it with something of equal or greater value. Like the bull, he thinks only of his own goal and doesn’t care how this loss will injure and deprive other people. He is unlike the bull in this idiom because the bull is unintentionally destructive, while Trump fully intends to wreak havoc.

Trump fails to recognize that Obama’s legacy was permanently established the moment he left office. What Trump is doing now is creating his own legacy, which will be judged harshly.

In many other countries where this idiom is used, the animal in the china shop is an elephant. Because the elephant is the symbol of the Republican Party, the image that describes the present situation in the White House might better be reworded to say that it is like having “an elephant in a china shop.”

P.L. Rowlett, Knoxville

Insurance companies target renal disease patients

Those who suffer end-stage renal disease have been hit with bitter news from the health insurance companies that they rely on. They do not want to accept premium payments if they are funded by charities, as is the case for many who have ESRD. Instead, they want to push these extremely ill individuals off on Medicare.

Because of the generosity of charitable organizations, many ESRD patients do not have to rely on Medicare, which will not cover all of their treatment expenses. Instead, they are able to have access to private health insurance.

But the insurance companies simply don’t want to cover dialysis treatment, because it is expensive. For that, they would rob these patients of their right to choose what kind of health coverage they have.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander is chairman of the Senate Health Committee, and he could make a difference in stopping insurance companies from continuing this unfair treatment.

Sen. Alexander, stand up for those with ESRD. They are too sick to fight for themselves.

Elyse Messing, Knoxville

It's wrong for NFL players to kneel

This is in response to the letter writer stating that NFL players kneeling during the national anthem are protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. While the players' cause may be just and their action legal, that does not make it right.
I can think of hundreds of reasons why it is not right. Four of those reasons are my four brothers, who served in the military in combat, two of whom earned Purple Hearts.